Fife.



PATENTED 00T. 3, 1965.

` No. smoes.

J. JENKS.

PIPE

APPLIOATIQN FILED MM 1o, 1904.

.l AMI/4 ATTUR JONATHAN JENKS, OF MOUNT AUBURN, IOV A.

FlFE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1905.

Application iilefl May 10,1904. Serial No. 207,276.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN J ENKs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Mount Auburn, in the county of Benton and State of Iowa, have invented a new and Improved Fife, of which the following isa full, clear, and-exact description.

The invention relates to musical instruments of the iiute type; and its object is to provide a new and improved fife arranged to permit the user to quickly and conveniently change the {ife from a B-key fife to a O-key life, or vice versa, and to permit of producing full and loud tones by proper admission of the air from the air-duct of the mouthpiece into the main tube.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations of the same, as will be more fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improvement shown in section and arranged as a B- key iife. Fig. 2 is a like view of the same arranged as a O-key ife, and Fig. 3 is a crosssection of the mouthpiece.

The tapering main tube A is closed at the end A/, is open at the end A2, and is provided with the usual finger-holes B for controlling thepitch of the tones, there being an extra hole for apurpose hereinafter described. Between the upper finger-hole B and the end A is arranged the mouthpiece O, having ahead O fitting the main tube A, and from the head extends transversely a lip O2, formed in its top with a groove, in which extends a removable slide O3, spaced from the bottom of the groove to form an air-duct Of, leading at its inner end to the hole B', opening into the main tube A. The bottoni of the air-duct Ol is rounded at its inner end at O5, as plainly illustrated in Fig. 8, so as to insure a proper passage of the air from the air-duct O'i into the hole B to increase the volume of the air within the tube, and thereby allow a full sounding of thelife when the same is played. The slide is held removably to allow conveniently cleaning the air-duct of the mouthpiece whenever it is deemed necessary to do so.

The end A2 of the main tube A is internally threaded to receive the threaded end of an extension-tube D for changing the O-key fife illustrated in Fig. 2 to a B-key life, as indicated in Fig. l. Then the extension-tube D is in position on the main tube A, as shown in Fig. l, then the operator closes the upper finger-hole B, and the life is now a B-key iife. IVhen it is desired to have a O-key iife, the operator simply unscrews and removes the extension-tube D and closes the lower lingerhole. The eXtra hole of the iife is to be closed by a valve of any suitable construction. In the drawings a spring-valve E, fitted to slide on the tube A, is shown for this purpose.

Having thus described my invention,I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. A [ifo comprising a main tube closed at one end and open at the other, the said main tube being provided with linger holes, a mouthpiece at the closed end of the said main tube, and an extension-tube removably connected with the open end of the main tube.

2. A fife provided with a mouthpiece having atransverse lip, formed in its top with a groove, and a plate extending across the groove andA` spaced from the bottom thereof, to form an air-duct leading at its inner end to the main tube of the ife, the inner end of the bottom of the air-duct being' rounded.

3. A fife provided with a mouthpiece having a transverse lip provided with a groove, and a removable slide carried bythe lip above the bottom of the groove thereof.

In testimony whereof I have signed myname to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JONATHAN J ENKS.

Iitnessesz J. I). BURRELL, E. ROBINSON. 

